A group of Spanish tour operators will visit the border areas between Táchira State and the Colombian Norte de Santander Department, with the purpose of proposing this geographical region as a tourism option for Europeans.
By Anggy Polanco / Correspondent lapatilla.com
The visit is scheduled for mid-April and the idea is to show the large European hoteliers and tourism agencies that this territory has airports, establishments and a rich gastronomy to offer to visitors.
The information was presented by the Táchira Chamber of Tourism and the representative of the tourism union of Norte de Santander in the ‘Clusters Páramos Mágicos de Capacho’, from where they also announced the creation of the Binational Border Tourism Council to address some weaknesses and strengths of the territory as a product and destination.
Through this council, several aspects will be addressed to improve the transit of tourists from one side of the border to the other, particularly the lack of electrical service at the passport stamping points in the immigration offices of entry and exit of Táchira, which delays the transit of people entering or leaving the country.
Pablo Clavijo, director of the ‘Northern Tourism Cluster Your Destino’, attached to the Chamber of Commerce of Cúcuta, pointed out that with the visit of tourist operators from Spain, the protagonist will be the border, where employees and the productive sector in this axis rom Norte de Santander and Táchira will benefit.
Fly away
He explained that 11 tour operators will visit the border corridor. They will come to see the advantages and offerings in order to attract European tourists. Additionally, he reported that the unions of both regions are working on the organization of the Binational Paragliding Championship, which will take place in mid-March with the participation of pilots from several countries.
Manuel Salas, coordinator of the Binational Paragliding Championship that will take place in Táchira, explained that they expect the coordination of businessmen and government entities from both countries for the successful development of this event that will take place from the mountains of San Joaquín de Navay, in southern Táchira.
The best paragliders from Colombia, Venezuela and other countries are expected to attend the event. Furthermore, in the Norte de Santander Department they also hope to activate the paragliding activity in some municipalities that have ideal conditions for this practice.
Strengthen relationships
José Gabriel Román, director of the Regional Commission of Competitiveness and Innovation of Norte de Santander (Colombia), stressed the need to see both regions as the same destination, especially when tourism is a means of developing wealth for a territory. He stated that it is essential to work in harmony as they have been doing with their Venezuelan counterparts.
That is why they will carry out a familiarization trip to Mérida State, which is also close to Colombia, in order to see how to ease the passage of Colombians towards this Andean state, since the idea is to expand relations and visits to various regions of Venezuela.
He pointed out that they also want to transform the image that Venezuelans have of shopping tourism in Norte de Santander, and that they may be interested in the tourist sites of the Colombian department.
Jumping obstacles
Gustavo Anzola, President of the Táchira Chamber of Tourism, explained that the meeting allowed us to strengthen alliances and improve the conditions of tourism in the border areas. Therefore, operators are carrying out some strategies together to attract visitors to Táchira.
One of the three successful strategies is the Tourism Cluster of ‘Paramos Magicos de Capacho’, a few minutes drive from Cúcuta and San Cristóbal.
The union representative indicated that there are several policies to improve focused on the mobility of people, the issue of taxes, the deficiency in public services, and the attention quality provided to tourists, as well as the prices offered.
He emphasized the great efforts made by tourism entrepreneurs to achieve the goal of providing a good experience to visitors. Some equipped themselves with large power plants, solar panels, and electrical backups and water supply storage.
“This impacts the operation costs of an inn or a hotel, as well as the profit of that businessman, but the emotional well-being of that tourist is part of our success,” Anzola pointed out.